Merciless Arrest in Yitzhar Caught on Video

Video shows officers using taser against unarmed, unresisting father as small child screams.

Maayana Miskin, 16/08/13 10:16

Arrest (illustrative)

Israel news photo: Honenu

A video has been released of the arrest of Boaz Albert, a father from Yitzhar who was dragged from his home and arrested on Thursday night for violating an administrative order distancing him from Judea and Samaria.

The video shows officers repeatedly using a taser against Albert, who is not resisting as he is dragged from the home. In the background, one of Albert’s children can be heard screaming “Mommy,” and crying as his father is given electric shocks.

Lieutenant-Colonel in reserves Itzik Shadmi, the head of the Binyamin Residents’ Council, expressed shock at the brutality of the arrest. “Five officers jumped on Boaz, laid him on the floor and nearly broke his arm,” he said. “He was pleading that he was in pain, and that he was not resisting. His wife and I told them that he wasn’t resisting, that they should stop with the violence.

“They didn’t listen, and after that they took him out… From his screams along the way I could tell that they shot him [with the taser] more than once,” he said.

One of Albert’s brothers was shot with a taser as well, and the hooks of the taser became stuck in his stomach. Police did not allow an ambulance to evacuate him for treatment for some time.

The brother was eventually taken to a hospital, where a minor surgical procedure was done to remove the hooks.

Samaria Regional Council head Gershon Mesika was outraged by the video. “The video clip shows barbaric violence on the part of the Yassam officers,” he said Friday morning. “We will insist that this be investigated, and the violent officers brought to trial.”

Boaz Albert was arrested for being present in his home despite a distancing order. Under laws dating back to the British Mandate, security forces are able to arrest people suspected of endangering Israel’s security, or to bar them from entering a certain area, without trial. Officials are not required to explain their reasons for issuing the order.

Boaz Albert has argued that that he was hit with a detention order solely out of vindictiveness, in revenge for his public statements against IDF policy.